Beg Yr Pardon #1

The very first Beg Yr Pardon party was held last night at The Delancey. Where were you? I'm guessing you were either there, or not. Either way, you should be given the gift of an Ear Farm recap. Yes, I said gift. This isn't chocolate boxes, or roses, but it's something you'll treasure for minutes to come. And perhaps you'll learn why you should go ahead and mark your calendars for Beg Yr Pardon #2 on June 20th.

So, the most important point - the night was a total success. As I said in the brief bit I posted earlier (which has been updated and changed into what you're now reading), I had a ton of fun with pretending to be a DJ and listening to the live bands and meeting cool people and consuming free baked goods; and so, it seemed, did everyone else who went. I was to be the first DJ of the night thus I got there nice and early to get acquainted and ready to go. Unfortunately, my playlists that I made were about twice as long as they should've been, so right as they started getting into the kick-ass tracks I had to stop them for the wonderful live music. Nobody seemed to mind that though (perhaps on the inside they rejoiced), because the bands were indeed wonderful.

The first band of the night was El Madmo, or Momad as they were billed. Do you know who that is? It's Norah Jones' 'punk band'. Or, well that's what they say at least. Punk isn't really how I'd describe their sound (nor would any of the people who saw them play earlier this month) but that's neither here nor there. The first question that needs answering is how did they sound. The answer, in my opinion, was good. Pretty darn good. That's to say, I really enjoyed the set. I dug the wigs and makeup, I liked the alt-country that'd be at home in a David Lynch film meets Pulp Fiction soundtrack sound, and I even liked their silly lyrics. What really grabbed me though was Nora's voice. Big surprise, right? Well it was for me. I don't listen to her music at all (at least, not consciously...I am aware that she's played in various retail locations around the country) but I knew to expect nice vocals. I just never expected something so sweet at a club like The Delancey. Best vocals I've ever heard there? You bet. The sound was refreshingly excellent and the other two members of her band were also very good. I forgot to bring my camera but Jenny was nice enough to offer some of the great pictures she took. Below you'll find two of them (more HERE) so be sure to go visit her site, Fireballs & Tsunami, and say hello and thanks!


After El Madmo/Momad's set I thought it prudent to play "The Number of the Beast" by Iron Maiden (yes, I gave in to 666 urges) and not long into the song the room pretty much cleared out. "Oops", I thought. Come to find out, that was just a pattern throughout the night. My guess is that the roof deck was too much of a draw for people to stay down in the basement the entire time. Makes sense. Next time I promise to give you guys mo' better musical reasons to remain in the dark.

The second band to play was balls-out rockers Kickstart who came on and kicked serious ass the entire time. Their sound is a little bit of rockabilly, little bit punk, and a lot of fucking rock and roll. No wonder I drank so much whiskey during their set. Ask yourself - what do you really want in a rock show? Loud screaming guitar players booming with a touch of danger and lots of sweat? A kick ass chick on drums? A three piece that can make your ears bleed and leave you smiling and exhausted from their set? If you answered yes to any of those questions I suggest checking Kickstart live or on MySpace. Do it now.

At this point I'd handed over my DJ duties to DJ Mojo, who totally rocked the house, and Fenwick was up next. They're an all female three-piece band hailing from Lowell/Boston, Massachusetts but there's a hint of California surfer punk in their sound. Once they took the stage and dove into their set I sensed rather quickly that they've spent a bit of time listening to Descendents (from LA). Fenwick has that same hardcore punk-pop approach that made Descendents legends of the genre and it's a bit refreshing to see the approach from a current all girl band. If I didn't know any better I'd say they're making perfect music for you to listen to while you're subway surfing. Go check 'em out at their MySpace page.

Now, I might need to remind you that I do indeed work a day job. You may have noticed Ear Farm being a bit slow with posts lately and that's because I've been extremely busy with work lately. Well, this is my way of trying to make an excuse for why I had to leave last night after Fenwick. It sucks, I know, and I'm very sorry that I couldn't catch Up The Empire, Cholo, and DJ Holmes. I have it on good authority that they continued the ass-kicking and fun times were had by all. For more info and some pictures, go HERE. Thanks sooo very much to organizers Tina (the brownies and cupcakes were perfect), Daniella (nice to finally meet you), and Bryan (thanks for the dog) and thanks to everyone else who came out last night for Beg Yr Pardon #1. Now perhaps you'll believe me when I tell you that you should clear your calendar for Beg Yr Pardon #2 on June 20th with Higgins, Planes for Spaces, Takka Takka, and Telenovela Star.

One more thing. My friend Franz came out to BYP last night and sometimes when he goes to see bands he sketches 'em (you can find more such drawings of bands on his site). Last night he did just that with El Madmo/Momad and Kickstart. Franz was nice enough to share the pictures with us, you'll see them posted below. Be sure to visit his site FMP Studio.com.

El Madmo/Momad

Kickstart

PS - sorry for being so long winded! you know, you're right. it's not that long and I'm not sorry either.